Tour Shot Golf

  THE PLANTATION COURSE at KINGSMILL Williamsburg, Virginia November 24, 2022 OVERVIEW FACILITY TYPE: Resort YEAR OPENED: 1975? ARCHITECT: Arnold Palmer & Ed Seay PAR: 72 LENGTH: 3,606 - 6,437 yards USGA RATING: 59.2 - 70.9 USGA SLOPE: 100 - 130 TEE OPTIONS: 8 WEBSITE: https://www.kingsmill.com/golf/ PHONE: (866) 371-6732   Often overshadowed by its big brother, The River Course, The Plantation Course is a fun and accessible course open to the public at Kingsmill Resort in Williamsburg, Virginia. The resort has been around since 1975 when it was opened by the Anheuser-Busch company along with neighboring Busch Gardens. For as long as I’ve known my wife, we’ve been going to Williamsburg for the 4th of July and Thanksgiving to visit her family, and seem to always play at least one round at The Plantation Course. Unlike the longer more challenging River Course which has hosted a number of Professional Tour events, The Plantation Course offers an opportunity for all p...

The Ultimate Year of Travel: 22 in 22 (Visiting 22 National Parks in 2022)  “The journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step” -Lao Tzu

  TURF VALLEY (Hialeah) Ellicott City, Maryland November 30, 2022 OVERVIEW FACILITY TYPE: Resort YEAR OPENED: 1959 ARCHITECT: Edmund Ault PAR: 71 LENGTH: 5,353 - 6,525 yards USGA RATING: 68.0 - 72.0 USGA SLOPE: 124 - 138 TEE OPTIONS: 4 WEBSITE: www.turfvalley.com PHONE: (410) 465-1504   With two courses on property, the Original Course, and the Hialeah Course, Turf Valley Golf Resort is one of only a handful of 36-hole facilities in Maryland. I had played the Original course three times in the past but they were all years ago and before the recent renovations. When I had an opportunity to play the Hialeah course for the first time I jumped on it. Turf Valley is a semi-private resort, which means it has both private membership and public play. As a top 100 club fitter for 2nd Swing just down the road from Turf Valley, I often get to meet the members of Turf Valley. Over the last year, I’ve heard a lot of promising feedback about the renovations. And while I can’t say f...

  THE OCEAN COURSE Kiawah, South Carolina June 19, 2022 OVERVIEW FACILITY TYPE: Resort YEAR OPENED: 1991 ARCHITECT: Pete Dye PAR: 72 LENGTH: 5,307 - 7,849 yards USGA RATING: 66.4 - 79.1 USGA SLOPE: 125 - 155 TEE OPTIONS: 7 WEBSITE: https://kiawahresort.com/golf/the-ocean-course/ PHONE: (800) 654-2924   It’s rare that a course steeped in so much history is accessible to anyone who wants to play it. That’s the beautiful thing about The Ocean Course; it's part of a world-class five-star/five-diamond resort. The Ocean Course at Kiawah Island was built to host the 1991 Ryder Cup and has since gone on to host some of the biggest tournaments in golf such as the 2012 PGA Championship won by Rory McIlroy and the 2021 PGA Championship won by Phil Mickelson. The PGA of America named the site of the 1991 Ryder Cup before the Ocean Course was even built, and commissioned legendary golf course architect Pete Dye to build it. Pete Dye courses popular tour venues because of their dem...

  STONEHOUSE GOLF CLUB Toano, Virginia November 23, 2022 OVERVIEW FACILITY TYPE: Semi-Private YEAR OPENED: 1996 / 2019 ARCHITECT: Mike Strantz PAR: 72 LENGTH: 4,135 - 7,013 yards  USGA RATING: 61.3 - 73.6 USGA SLOPE: 115 - 143 TEE OPTIONS: 6 WEBSITE: https://stonehousegolfclub.com/ PHONE: (757) 250-3399   This was my second round at Stonehouse Golf Club. My first was July 4th, 2020, on the 1 year anniversary of the course being reopened. During that round two years ago, the greens were in poor condition, yet the course layout was so amazing that I went back anyway, and boy am I glad I did! The course was originally designed by legendary golf course architect, Mike Strantz. Opened in 1996, the course received high praise and accolades. This excerpt directly from Stonehouse’s website does a great job summarizing the history of the facility… When the course opened in 1996, Stonehouse was named “Best New Upscale Public Course in the Nation” by Golf Digest and “Top 10 ...